“Now there were four men with leprosy at the entrance of the city gate. They said to each other, ‘Why stay here until we die? If we say, “We’ll go into the city”—the famine is there, and we will die. And if we stay here, we will die. So let’s go over to the camp of the Arameans and surrender. If they spare us, we live; if they kill us, then we die.’”
– 2 Kings 7:3,4
Yesterday, we talked about how Elisha fed enemy troops in the middle of Samaria before sending them back to their leader, the King of Aram. Because the Arameans were at war with the Israelites, this profound demonstration of divine power humiliated the king and made him all the more determined to defeat them. In an effort to fully destroy the Jewish population, he surrounded the city and assaulted the people so they were unable to leave and were dying for lack of food and supplies. Though the situation was quite dire, Elisha predicted another victory — but this time, it came through very unlikely means. With Samaria in shambles, four lepers, who were ostracized and unable to enter because of their illness, decided to go to the Aramean army and surrender. Since they knew they would die if they went into the city and they couldn’t flee to another location because they were outcast, they figured they had nothing to lose. With resolve, they headed toward the enemy camp, but when they arrived, they found it empty. Unbeknownst to them, the Holy Spirit had caused the Aramean troops to hear the “phantom” sounds of an even larger army approaching, so they abandoned their settlement and left. Because they took off in a hurry, when the lepers arrived, they stumbled upon an abundance of food and supplies. Then they were faced with a tough decision. Having been marginalized, ostracized, and mistreated by society for many years, they were tempted to hoard the wealth and take what they felt they were entitled to. But as they began to gather the bounty for their own benefit, they were convicted, and they knew they needed to tell the king about the treasure they had discovered. My friend, when you have a root of rejection in your heart, it’s easy to feel as if the world owes you something for your pain. However, the truth is that Jesus has set you free from the burden of healing your own soul. While hoarding stuff and taking what’s yours is a natural way to soothe the wound that’s been inflicted upon you, your best life comes when you relinquish that urge and choose to help people instead. By releasing your grip on revenge and trusting your Savior to right every wrong, you open the door for blessings to flow to others whom He has placed in the path of your abundance. |
Prayer
Jesus, though I am wounded, I trust you to heal me. As I do the right thing, teach me to surrender my outcomes to you.
Reflection
Have you fully relinquished your pain to Jesus, or do you cling to something else in order to find comfort?
If you’re unable to attend your local church or need some additional weekly inspiration, be sure to tune into Hour of Power every Saturday night at 6:30 p.m. PT on TBN or watch online at hourofpower.org/episode.